Two local schools get top marks in national rankings
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IDAHO FALLS — Two local schools have been ranked the top-performing schools in a national list, alongside meeting above expectations in several categories.
According to the U.S. News and World Report High School Rankings, Idaho Falls High School is the top school in the Idaho Falls area, with Compass Academy as the second.
The ranking report is based on test scores from 2021 to 2024 from the Idaho Standards Achievement Test. The report also uses data from the College Board on Advanced Placement exams and the number of seniors who took them.
Graduation rates
Looking at graduation rates, IFHS had an 84% graduation rate in 2024. This is above Idaho’s targeted graduation rate of 81.4% and higher than the state average of 82.3%, according to the Idaho Department of Education’s Idaho Report Card.
Looking at the second school on the U.S. News report, Compass Academy shows a 95% graduation rate. The state report card shows that the school’s five-year graduation rate for 2023 was 96.3%, and its 2024 class four-year graduation rate was 87.8%.
However, the Idaho Report Card shows the Compass Academy’s four-year graduation rate is 87.8%, while its five-year rate is 96.3%. IFHS still shows its graduation rate for four-year at 84.9% and five year at 84.4%. The five-year graduation rate is for those students who need more support and don’t graduate in the traditional four-year timeframe.
District 91 Superintendent Karla LaOrange told EastIdahoNews.com that her main focus was to look at improving graduation rates for the district.
Between 2019 and 2023, the school district’s five-year graduation rates declined from 91% to 77.6%.
Last year, the district implemented two new changes, with the aim of improving grades and also graduation rates.
The first was the intervention model, which involved transitioning to a four-day school week to allow the fifth day to support students who may be falling behind or need extra support.
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This system was piloted at Emerson Alternative High School, where the district said that the number of students who were not graduating declined by 50%.
“For the ones that need help (the four-day week gives them the opportunity) that they can come to class the next day and understand what’s going on,” LaOrange said. “For our advanced students, it gives them a chance to go deeper and get more individualized, one-on-one feedback and help so that they’re succeeding at the highest level possible for them.”
The change was the creation and hiring of a Dean of Students at the high schools to help the schools increase graduation rates.
IFHS Principal Dallen Parker said the dean’s goal is to be another step in intervention, where the school looks at students who are behind and helps them get on the right track. He said that position was created last year by the districts with the goal of improving graduation and attendance rates.
English, math and science
U.S. News and World Report lists IFHS at 39% proficiency in math, 74% in reading, and 30% in science.
The Idaho Report Card shows the school at 66% in English language arts, 28.4% in math, and 33.4% in science. The ELA is above Idaho’s target of 53.6%, according to the report card.
Parker said that the scores are the result of the work the teachers have done with the students.
Part of it is using the intervention model, he said, in which teachers can help students learn important concepts in English or math to meet those state standards.
At Compass Academy, the U.S. News report shows the school at 69% proficiency in reading, 22% in math and 30% in science.
The state’s report card shows Compass Academy at 62.5% proficiency in English language arts and about 21% in math and 38% in science.
Armstrong said that, with the school’s curriculum centered on project-based learning, each project includes components that help students learn key concepts as they progress through the class.
An example of this is in the school’s art and chemistry classes, where students learned how to make paint pigment and, from there, found other pathways to expand on it.
“Not only that, getting the content and they’re interested in it and engaged, they’re also building a lot of those soft skills,” Armstrong said.
Regarding the math numbers, Armstrong said the school has been analyzing its courses and addressing the drop in proficiency from 37% last year.
Overall, Armstrong said many of the students who attend Compass Academy come from a K-8 background, which allows the teachers to build on the foundation they’ve learned before.
Advanced Placement and college credits
The U.S. News report shows that at IFHS, 37% of all seniors took an AP exam, and of those, 23% scored a three or higher. The passing rate for all students who took an AP test was 67%.
Parker told that IFHS’s AP exam pass rate is 88% and that number has stayed in the 80s for the past five years.
“That’s a good trend, and so we’re excited to see what it continues to do going forward,” Parker said.
At Compass Academy, Armstrong said the school’s AP exam pass rate over the past year was 81%, with two courses achieving a 100% pass rate.
A U.S. News report shows that among all seniors, 32% took an AP exam and 18% passed. The report shows that the school had a passing rate for AP tests of 57%.
Unsure how the U.S. News report calculates the numbers, Armstrong said that the College Board, the organization that oversees the Advanced Placement exams, is the one that gives her the report on how students do in those exams.
Parker said that this year, IFHS is offering 21 dual-credit classes, allowing students to earn up to 73 college credits. He said the school plans to offer more dual-credit courses.
Parker said this is the first year IFHS can offer students a pathway not only to earn their high school diploma but also to earn an associate’s degree at the same time.
“I’m super proud about that, because that’s a cool opportunity for kids that that is, from an academic standpoint, is really exciting,” Parker said.